Nukenin
by A Random Story Generator
Summary: Slowly drawing out the hitaite that Iruka had attempted to give him, Naruto picked up the first of his kunai and carved a long line through the leaf symbol emblazoned on it.
1. Revelations

**AN: These scenes have been stuck in my head for a bit, so I figured I may as well put them down. Reviews/comments encouraged! \AN**

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><p><strong><em>Nukenin<em>**

**_Chapter 1: Revelations_**

Leaning against a small woodshed and reading the forbidden scroll Mizuki had asked him to steal, Naruto smiled. The plan had gone off without a hitch, and now all he had to do was learn a jutsu. Glancing through the jutsu listed in the forbidden scroll, Naruto's eyes widened. This thing was so awesome.

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><p>"NARUTO!"<p>

Absently rerolling the forbidden scroll, Naruto raised his eyes to meet Iruka's, giving his sensei a wide grin.

"I did it, sensei! I learned one of the jutsu! I can graduate now, right?"

Approaching his orange-clad student, Iruka felt a cold chill crawl up his spine.

"Who told you that Naruto?"

Mizuki appeared in a tree behind Iruka, launching a barrage of kunai and shuriken just as Naruto opened his mouth to answer. Despite being taken unaware, Iruka managed to avoid most of the barrage, taking only a kunai in his leg and shoulder.

"I see you found our little hideaway, Iruka."

Next to Naruto, Iruka gritted his teeth as he glared daggers at his traitorous comrade.

"So that's the way it is, huh? I should have known!"

Mizuki gave Iruka a smirk before turning his attention to the blond-haired boy standing next to him.

"Naruto! Give me the scroll now!"

Naruto stepped away from both of his sensei, eyes wide.

"What's going on here?"

Gripping the kunai embedded in his leg, Iruka withdrew the weapon and sent it speeding towards Mizuki.

"Naruto! Don't let Mizuki get the scroll! It contains forbidden jutsu that can put this village in grave danger! Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself, for his own power."

His head spinning, Naruto began to backpedal away from Mizuki.

"Naruto! Iruka is just trying to scare you because he doesn't want you to have the scroll!"

Stopping abruptly, Naruto shifted his gaze to Iruka who gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Stop lying Mizuki! Don't let him trick you Naruto!"

Standing to his full height on the branch, Mizuki looked down on Naruto and began laughing.

"Oh I'll tell you who's really lying."

Sensing Mizuki's intentions, Iruka's voice acquired a note of panic.

"No Mizuki!"

"They've been lying to you your whole life Naruto-since the decree twelve years ago. Everyone knows except you. Iruka's trying to hide it from you even now. He'd do anything to shut me up!"

Naruto turned his complete attention to the chunin in front of him, sensing that—at least for the moment—he was telling the truth.

"What is this decree? Why does everyone else know about it?"

Mizuki smiled, preparing to bring the young blond's world crashing down around his ears.

"The decree states that no one can tell you that the nine-tailed fox is inside you! You are the very demon that almost destroyed Konoha!"

Naruto stumbled backwards at Mizuki's words, years of glares, beatings, and abuse resolving themselves into a single clear picture.

"They've all been sneaking around hiding things from you your whole life. Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you? Like dirt! Like they hated you for just being alive!"

Naruto could only watch as Mizuki drew one of the large shuriken off his back, sending the projectile speeding towards him. Naruto watched as Mizuki's shuriken bore down on him, and yet, he couldn't force himself to move. It all made so much sense. The hatred, the beatings, it was all because he held the Kyuubi within him. The warm splatter of blood across his face brought Naruto back to reality. Above him stood Iruka, Mizuki's shuriken embedded in his back.

"W-Why?"

Naruto watched as Iruka's eyes unfocused, memories playing before them.

"Because you're the same as me. After my parents died, no one ever complimented me or recognized me. Being the bad student I was, I screwed up a lot during class…because I wanted to get everyone's attention. I couldn't get attention when I was a good student, so I acted like an idiot. It was tough…right Naruto? You were lonely, and it was tough."

Iruka coughed and Naruto heard Mizuki's laughter in the distance.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. You didn't have to feel that way if I was more aware."

Taking one last look at his academy sensei, Naruto scrambled out of the clearing, running as fast as he could away from Mizuki and the truth of his childhood.

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><p>"Naruto! What Mizuki said back there was all a lie! Hand over the scroll to me! Mizuki is after it!""<p>

Naruto stumbled as the sound of Iruka's voice drifted through the forest, followed moments later by his own. Turning, Naruto made his way back to a clearing where Iruka was standing over…him. Withdrawing a kunai, Naruto crept forward.

"How did you know I'm not Iruka?"

With a sign, the Iruka-henge dropped and Mizuki appeared. The Naruto clone smiled up at the traitorous chunin.

"Because I'm Iruka."

His target identified, Naruto loosed his kunai at Mizuki and landed in front of the downed Iruka, eyes blazing. Mizuki dodged Naruto's throw and smiled at the new arrival, his eyes shifting greedily to the scroll on the boy's back.

"You hurt someone who accepted me."

Naruto crossed his fingers into his newest handseal.

"And now you're going to pay."

Across from Naruto, Mizuki broke out into laughter.

"And what do you think you're going to do boy? You failed the graduation test three times! I'm a chunin!"

Naruto ground his teeth together, putting every drop of his chakra into his new jutsu.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Shadow Clone Jutsu)

Mizuki's eyes widened at the sheer number of clones now surrounding him. Without a word, all of them drew kunai and descended on the chunin. When the blond-haired boy finally dispelled his clones, Mizuki was nothing more than a mass of blood and bruises. Glaring down at the man, Naruto delivered one last swift kick to his face before turning back to Iruka.

"Naruto, there's something I believe you've earned."

Untying his hitaite, Iruka limped forward, moving to tie the headband on Naruto, halting when he met the blond's glacial eyes.

"Naruto, what's the matter?"

Stepping forward, Naruto disappeared in a flash of speed, appearing behind his injured instructor and driving the butt of his kunai into the back of Iruka's skull. Naruto watched as his academy instructor collapsed, his unconscious body landing on the forest floor with a dull thud.

"Everything, Iruka-sensei."

Picking up the hitaite Iruka had been about to give him, tears flowed uncontrollably down Naruto's face. After allowing himself one last look at the only Konoha shinobi to ever show him kindness, Naruto took off through the forest at breakneck speed.

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><p>A small, blond-haired boy stood atop a cliff overlooking Konoha; below him the Fourth Hokage's likeness gazed down on the village he had saved, the village that had tortured his son. Naruto's hands clenched at his sides, his knuckles whitening as the moon steadily climbed higher in the sky.<p>

"Why?"

The question came out as little more than a whisper, lost in the wind the moment it left his lips.

"WHY DAMMIT? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?"

His chest heaving, Naruto absently noted the blood dripping from his balled fists. Turning his attention back to the village, Naruto's eyes narrowed; he had played the fool for them. He had shown them a smiling face and forgiveness, only to be beaten, starved, and ignored for his entire childhood. The villagers were fools-he had decided that long ago. He could accept their ignorance and hatred. It was the betrayal of his Jiji—no, the man no longer deserved that title. It was the betrayal of the Sandaime that had hit him hardest, the man's blatant deception obvious as soon as Mizuki had uttered the word 'Kyuubi'.

Naruto couldn't restrain a low growl as his attention shifted to the Hokage tower, the Sandaime's office awash with light at even this late hour. He had trusted the sandaime when he said that he didn't know why the villagers hated him, didn't know who his parents were. The old man had smiled and lied to his face.

Naruto felt a sudden need to retch as all the atrocities of his childhood unraveled before his eyes. He lived in the most powerful ninja village in the world, was on personal terms with its leader, and somehow couldn't manage to go a week without being beaten? The idea was laughable. The Sandaime was known as 'the god of shinobi' and 'the professor', but didn't realize that asking an academy student with more chakra than most jonin to do a bunshin was a tall order? Despite himself, Naruto felt a low chuckle rumble through his chest, before breaking out into full blown laughter.

It was all so idiotic. The Hokage didn't care about him; he cared about the Kyuubi and keeping it weak. It was so painfully obvious. After several long seconds, Naruto managed to regain control of himself, wiping a single tear from his eye.

"I won't forget this old man. I will never forget what you and this miserable village made me go through."

Shifting the forbidden scroll attached to his back out of the way, Naruto drew out three kunai and all of the explosive tags he had purchased earlier that day-just before he had failed the academy's exam for the third time. Bending over, Naruto attached the tags to the kunai, placing his finished product in a neat row at his feet. Checking over his gear, Naruto looked over the village that had been his home for the past twelve years, mentally wishing old man Ichiraku and Iruka goodbye. Slowly drawing out the hitaite that Iruka had attempted to give him, Naruto picked up the first of his kunai and carved a long line through the leaf symbol emblazoned on it. Standing to his full height, Naruto tied the hitaite proudly around his forehead, the loose cloth blowing in the wind behind him. Without a word, the newly-minted nukenin drew back his arm and sent his three explosive tag laden kunai towards the Hokage's tower, turning and running into the darkness as the sound of the explosions washed over Konoha.


	2. Exodus

**AN: Thanks for the reviews; I hope you enjoy chapter 2. As always, reviews are appreciated. \AN**

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><p><em><strong>Nukenin<strong>_

_**Chapter 2: Exodus**_

"THE VILLAGE IS UNDER ATTACK!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage, tightened his grip on his desk as one of his shinobi incited the very panic he had been hoping to avoid.

"ANBU. Sound the alarm, withdraw our troops from the search for the Uzumaki boy, and secure the village. No one gets in or out without my express permission."

Two black-clad shinobi immediately appeared on the ground in front of him, right knee and fist pressed to the floor.

"Hai, Hokage-sama"

With a barely perceptible nod, Hiruzen dismissed his two ANBU captains, returning to his desk with a sigh.

'_Naruto, wherever you are I hope you're alright. I'll send out a tracker team to find you and bring Mizuki in as soon as I deal with this attack.'_

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><p><em>Somewhere in the forests around Konoha<em>

Naruto pushed his body to move faster despite his pounding heart and burning lungs, nearly falling out of the treetops when he heard voices only a few hundred yards in front of him.

"…God damn demon brat, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in on this atta-."

"Raina! If I want to hear your opinion, I'll ask for it. Keep your senses sharp, I thought I heard something."

Naruto swallowed and desperately attempted to calm his racing heart; thinking quickly, Naruto dropped soundlessly off of his branch and landed lightly on the forest floor, performing a quick henge to transform into just another decaying log.

A soft tapping was the only sign that the Konoha ninja were now passing directly over his head.

"I swear it was right about here."

Naruto's heart threatened to burst out of his chest as someone spoke only feet from his hiding spot. Naruto almost lost control of his henge as a low, dangerous voice washed over him.

"Leave it for the trackers. We need to bolster the village's defenses first."

Naruto let his breath out slowly as the soft tapping of the Konoha ninja leaping through the forest disappeared into the distance. Naruto waited a few minutes before dropping his henge and leaping back into the trees, his mind focused entirely on one word: trackers.

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><p>After several hours of running, Naruto collapsed at the edge of a stream. Dragging himself into the shallow water, Naruto stripped off his orange jumpsuit and boxers, taking a kunai to both and cutting them into long strips.<p>

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Without a word, each of the bunshin took a piece of cloth from the original and tied it around one of their ankles before disappearing into the forest. Alone again, Naruto suppressed a shiver as he began to wash himself in the stream's cold waters. Soaked to the bone, the blond boy withdrew a small sealing scroll from his kunai pouch, and quickly unsealed his spare jumpsuit. Swallowing hard, Naruto dunked the clothing in the stream's cold waters for several minutes before reclothing himself and begin his long trek up the stream.

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><p><em>Hokage Tower, Konoha<em>

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared impassively at the door in front of him, his hand on the door's handle.

"Hokage-sama…"

With a tired sigh, Hiruzen allowed his shoulders to sag and looked back towards his best academy instructor.

"Iruka, I'm sorry for this."

Before his subordinate could respond, Hiruzen turned back towards the door, squared his shoulders, and made his way into the council room.

"Hokage-sama!"

Hiruzen nodded to the assembled council members and took his seat at the head of the table.

"As I'm sure you're all aware at this point, nearly eight hours ago Uzumaki Naruto stole the forbidden scroll from the Hokage tower. Approximately five hours later the Hokage tower suffered damage from three separate explosions."

Raising his hand, Hiruzen forestalled the inevitable accusations and slurs.

"Chunin instructor Umino Iruka, please step forward."

Iruka swallowed as everyone's attention shifted to him, stepping awkwardly into the center of the room.

"Umino-san, please recount your experiences for the council."

Squaring his shoulders, the brown-haired chunin looked directly at the Hokage and did his best to ignore both the pain from his injuries and the palpable tension in the room.

"When it was announced that Narut—Uzumaki-san had stolen the forbidden scroll, I was among those ordered to retrieve him. I stumbled upon Uzumaki-san just south of the village. When I confronted him, he stated that he had been practicing one of the jutsu from the scroll and asked if he could now graduate from the academy…"

Iruka's voice faded away as several of the council members snorted in disbelief.

"As if we'd let that dem—"

The Third Hokage's fist hit the table in front of him with a resounding crack. Turning to the civilian council member with the gall to open his mouth, Hiruzen fixed the man with a glare that promised considerable pain.

"Hantaro-san, if you cannot keep your comments to yourself, I will personally throw you out of this meeting."

Sending a grateful look towards the Hokage, Iruka pushed on with his story.

"While I was speaking to Uzumaki-san, I was ambushed by chunin instructor Mizuki."

Iruka felt the temperature in the room plummet as every clan head leaned forward and began releasing killing intent.

"Mizuki proceeded to inform Uzumaki-san that he held the Kyuubi within him; Narut—Uzumaki-san went into shock at Mizuki's revelation. Mizuki took the opportunity to attack Uzumaki-san and, while I was able to shield him, I was seriously injured in the process. Uzumaki-san fled the clearing with Mizuki behind him. I managed to bypass Mizuki and henge into Naruto in a stalling tactic; Mizuki took the bait and attempted to obtain the forbidden scroll by posing as me. When I saw an opening I attacked, but was able to do little damage to Mizuki."

Iruka let out a sigh of relief as several of the clan heads smiled at him and gave nods of approval.

"Naruto arrived just as Mizuki was about to finish me, using the kage bunshin no jutsu to generate over a hundred clones and defeat Mizuki."

Despite the situation, Hiruzen felt a small amount of pride as the expression of every other ninja on the council dissolved into shock.

"What? Why is that important?"

Hiruzen chose his words carefully, savoring each and every one.

"The kage bunshin no jutsu is a jonin-level technique, but to generate that many clones would be a difficult task for even me."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as several of the civilian council members opened their mouths—and stopped abruptly, their eyes flickering towards the clearly agitated Hokage.

Nato, the senior civilian representative, leaned forward and locked eyes with Iruka.

"Are you sure of this?"

Iruka gave a single quick nod.

"Then, please continue."

Iruka stiffened, preparing himself for the worst.

"After Uzumaki-san's performance, I judged him to be at at least genin level and so attempted to present him with my hitaite. Instead of accepting, he knocked me unconscious."

As the last words left Iruka's lips, the council room erupted into chaos.

"ENOUGH."

Hiruzen met the gaze of every other council member before speaking.

"Thank you, Umino-san. You are dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama"

Iruka bowed to the village leader before turning on his heel and disappearing out of the room.

"As of this moment, we have the traitor Mizuki in custody, but have found no sign of Uzumaki Naruto. We can only conclude that he has fled Konoha."

"Have the hunter-nin been deployed?"

Hiruzen locked eyes with his oldest and most powerful detractor, Danzo's only visible eye narrowed in anger.

"Of course not. Uzumaki-san was not a ninja, and so cannot be properly classified as nukenin (missing nin)."

"But Umino-san did give him a hitaite, marking him as a—"

Hiruzen turned towards Nato, a small amount of surprise showing on his face as the most levelheaded civilian councilor made his stance clear.

"Uzumaki-san wasn't informed he had graduated; he was not a ninja."

Hiruzen's voice held a note of finality that Danzo was entirely unwilling to accept.

"You know that's a lie Sarutobi, and it's about time this village faced the truth. Uzumaki-san is the jinchuriki of the kyuubi—he was shinobi from the moment the Kyuubi was sealed into him. We cannot allow a rogue jinchuriki with a grudge against Konoha to roam free or, even worse, to fall into enemy hands. That boy has become a liability and if you do not retrieve him, I will personally take action."

Hiruzen felt his retort die as the other council members—even his trusted clan heads—began to nod.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but the boy is a threat. In all likelihood, it's Uzumaki-san who attacked the tower."

Hyuuga Hiashi's statement ended the discussion; raising his arm weakly, Hiruzen summoned his most trusted ANBU captain.

"Tenzo, you are to join with tracker team 1 and retrieve Uzumaki Naruto…alive if you can, dead if you must. He is henceforth classified as nukenin."

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><p><em>Three Months Later…<em>

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><p><em>Somewhere in the Land of Tea<em>

Naruto's cloak whipped around him, the driving rain doing its best to soak the already cold and tired boy. Slowly lowering the hood that protected his head, Naruto allowed the water to wash down his face, rinsing away the grim that covered his cheeks and turning his hair into even more of a mess than it already was. With a long sigh, Naruto ran a calloused hand through his long locks, still mildly uncomfortable with their brown color. It was a necessary sacrifice though, just like the rags he wore as clothes.

After a few months on the run, he had learned that it was the little tricks that really counted; disappearing and hiding didn't require fancy jutsu...mostly. The real key was to blend in, to look like anything but yourself. With a half smile, Naruto recalled some of his more devious measures for distracting the hunter-nin that had harried him during his first month and a half. It must have been exceptionally hard trying to track him down when he had a tendency to appear in every major city in the land of fire…at the same time. If he had to bet on it, he was quite certain that his ANBU tails had been doing far more running that he had.

After taking another moment to enjoy the rain, Naruto pulled his hood back up and began running further into Tea country. It had been over a month since his last encounter with tracker-nin, but it didn't hurt to be careful; keep moving, stay sharp, stay alive. They were simple rules, but they had worked well so far. Leaning forward, Naruto pumped more chakra into his legs and boosted his speed, his feet now leaving barely a ripple on the surface of the river he was following.

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><p><em>Hokage Tower, Konoha<em>

Hiruzen raised his head wearily, glancing at the secretary that had interrupted the monotony of his paperwork.

"What is it Shizua?"

"Tracker unit 1 has returned, captain Tenzo is waiting outside."

Shizua smiled as the elderly Hokage immediately sat up and a nearly extinguished light returned to his eyes.

"Send him in."

Bowing, Shizua returned to her post outside the Hokage's office, holding the door open for the masked ANBU in the waiting area.

"Tenzo, report."

Hiruzen watched as the man in front of him gave a single nod and began to recount the past three months of his mission. After twenty minutes, Hiruzen noticed the man's legs beginning to tremble and quickly gestured him to a chair.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. As I was saying, Uzumaki has improved significantly since our first few encounters; it's clear that he retains the forbidden scroll and has spent considerable time both studying it and other resources that he has…acquired. Indeed, his thefts have become the only reliable way to trace him. He uses the kage bunshin no jutsu extensively to hide his true location, often appearing in cities that are hundreds of miles apart at the exact same time. The first few times he pulled that stunt were quite…exhausting."

Despite the severity of the conversation, Hiruzen felt the need to laugh at his unfortunate ANBU's plight; bringing his mirth under control, Hiruzen instead settled for an understanding smile.

"In all honesty, sir, we haven't been close to him in a month and a half, and at this rate the only way we'd find him is if he slips up or we get lucky."

Despite his exhaustion, Tenzo noted the hint of pride that flashed through his Hokage's eyes at his words; mentally filing the information away, Tenzo continued with his recommendation for the mission.

"I advise terminating active pursuit, at least for the moment, and placing a bounty on him."

Hiruzen paused, meeting Tenzo's eyes with a calculating look.

"Captain Tenzo, at what level would you gauge Uzumaki's skills?"

"To be safe, I would classify him as a mid-B rank. He's clearly at least a high-level genin, and with the forbidden scroll it's possible that he has a number of powerful jutsu."

Hiruzen nodded in understanding. Tipping his head forward to hide his face in the shadows of his hat, Hiruzen finally allowed a smile to appear on his face.

"In that case, I accept your suggestion, Captain Tenzo. Active pursuit will be terminated, and a bounty will be placed on Uzumaki on the order of 1,000 ryo with a ranking of C."

Hiruzen's grin widened as Tenzo stiffened in his seat.

"That was your suggestion, was it not Tenzo?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Standing, Tenzo bowed to his superior, a grin of his own hidden behind his mask.

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><p><em>Somewhere in the Land of Sound<em>

"Are you positive?"

Orochimaru's fingernails gouged thin lines along the arms of his chair, his black hair masking his face as he leaned towards Kabuto's lieutenant, an entirely mediocre black-haired man.

"Yes, sir. According to rumors, the Hokage hasn't been as active of late and willingly allowed the village hidden in the waterfalls to host the chunin exams instea-"

Orochimaru's hand tightened around the sound nin's neck, lifting him off the ground; the unfortunate man, still staring at the chair where the snake sannin had been seated moments before, began to kick futily.

"What are you planning, old man?"

Orochimaru continued to consider the Sandaime's choice for several seconds before turning absently back to the man in his grasp.

"Ku ku ku…you'd don't look so well…"

Orochimaru's hand flexed and the man's neck snapped with a sickening pop; throwing the corpse to the side, Orochimaru walked out into the torch-lit hallway.

"I suppose I'll just have to be patient, ne sensei?"

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><p><em>Somewhere in the Land of Rivers<em>

Jiraiya reread the letter for a fourth time, cursing Konoha, his sensei, and most of all himself.

Leaning back in his chair, the toad sannin dipped Hiruzen's letter into the fireplace next to his table, watching until it was completely consumed by the orange flames.

"I'm sorry, kid. I should have been there for you…"

Across the room, Kiki saw the unmistakable white mane of her best tipper. Quickly pulling her shirt just a tad lower the buxom waitress made her way to his table, putting a little extra sway into her steps for his enjoyment.

"Hello, Jiraiya-sama. Would you like your usual?"

Jiraiya absently glanced at the waitress before standing.

"Sorry, but there's someone I have to find."

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><p>Naruto landed soundlessly on a wide tree branch, his position giving him a complete view of his targets—from the looks of it a group of leaf genin on their first trip outside Konoha. Naruto had been tailing them in the land of Tea for nearly two hours, simply waiting for their smokestack of a sensei to leave them alone. Despite himself, Naruto let a feral grin slide across his face.<p>

'_Too easy.'_

Crossing his fingers, Naruto created four shadow clones before beginning to creep towards the genin's campsite.

Sitting with his teammates, Shikamaru watched their fire slowly consume a stick, scorching the once living plant black. With a long sigh, Shikamaru glanced at his teammates. Choji was a good friend and a good person—just not much of a ninja. The boy was currently munching through a bag of potato chips with gusto, completely unaware of the outside world. Beside him sat Ino, the current bane of his existence. The girl had a tendency to act like the team leader—except, of course, when it might require her to work. With another long sigh, Shikamaru turned back to the fire. He was so totally dead.

"Hiya!"

Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino were on their feet instantly, kunai drawn.

"Come out!"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, frantically searching for the origin of the voice; the black-haired Nara finally caught sight of movement just beyond the light from their campfire, movement that quickly resolved itself into a young boy with wild brown hair.

"Who are you?"

Choji held his potato chips protectively against his chest and eyed the new arrival warily.

"You mean you don't recognize me? I'm hurt! I remember you…Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji…"

Stepping forward Naruto gave the genin a good look at his face.

"Naruto!"

Naruto gave Choji a smile, nodding his head.

"Got it in one, Cho—"

"Kagemane no Jutsu: Success"

Shikamaru held his hands above his head, forcing Naruto to do the same.

"I don't know what you're doing here Naruto, but it can't be good. Choji, get Asuma-sensei."

Naruto gave the team of genin a wide grin.

"Nice try."

Shikamaru's eyes widened as the Naruto in front of him disappeared with a soft pop.

"BEHIND US!"

Shikamaru's warning was too late as Naruto's three remaining clones placed their kunai against the genin's throats.

Stepping out of the shadows to the team's left, Naruto examined his catch. At an almost imperceptible signal, all three clones drew a second kunai.

"Any last words?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened at the sudden change in Naruto's voice; gone was the warm, friendly tone he had used earlier. Naruto's voice was hard, cold, and unyielding. Shikamaru slowly closed his eyes, understanding that the boy in front of them intended to end their lives.

Naruto watched as Shikamaru closed his eyes, waiting for the killing blow. On either side of him, Choji and Ino were openly weeping, whatever they might have said utterly lost in their tears.

Shikamaru heard kunai strike both of his teammates, their bodies hitting the ground with soft thuds.


	3. Mist

**AN: Back again! Here's the next chapter...although it's only a rough draft. I'm heading home for the weekend and really wanted to get this out before hand. If anything needs expanding/fixing, let me know! I intend to edit/rewrite this at least once more when I get back. \AN**

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><p><em><strong>Nukenin<strong>_

_**Chapter 3: Mist**_

Sarutobi Asuma ambled back towards his team's campsite, the message they were sent to retrieve placed snuggly in his back pocket. Taking a long draw of his cigarette, Asuma exhaled the blue-tinted smoke into the cool night air, his mind wandering towards a particular red-eyed genjutsu mistress. Absently wiping a trickle of blood from his nose, the tall jonin entered his team's campsite.

"Hey, bra—"

Asuma's cigarette fell limply from his lips, his eyes widening in horror.

"NO, GODDAMIT"

Asuma drew both of his trench knives, instantly surging wind chakra through them. Allowing every ounce of his killing intent loose, Asuma stretched his senses out, desperate for a read on his team's attacker. Clenching his fists, Asuma felt hot tears slide down his cheeks as he sensed no one in the surrounding area.

"They didn't deserve this…no one deserves this…"

In front of the Konoha jonin were all three of his genin. Shikamaru was hunched over on the ground—he could have been asleep if not for the red gash where his throat should have been and the pool of blood around him. Asuma's heart constricted as he glanced at the harmless Choji; the large boy had been ruthlessly gutted, kunai pinning his hands and feet to the ground. Ino, however, was the worst; the feisty blond was stripped naked, bodily fluids coating her corpse and the numerous kunai embedded in it.

Dropping to his knees, Asuma slammed his fists into the ground, his anguish finally overwhelming him.

"I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT I WILL FIND YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU FEEL PAIN THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE!"

Asuma let out a strangled yell, hitting the ground in impotent fury.

"They didn't des—"

Asuma's whisper died as a muffled sound reached his ears. Forcing himself to calm down, the Konoha jonin again searched for any sign of life, albeit now within the clearing.

Sensing three familiar chakra signatures, Asuma stared in disbelief at the three corpses in front of him before his eyes finally widened in understanding. Asuma's hands immediately formed the ram handseal.

"KAI!"

Asuma watched as the campsite in front of him wavered and then dissolved, revealing all three of his genin laid out neatly by the fire, Shikamaru conscious and struggling against his bonds.

* * *

><p>"And then Naruto knocked them out."<p>

Asuma frowned at the black-haired youth across from him. He had, of course, heard of the Uzumaki boy going nukenin, but to attack his team of genin by himself? The kid had guts and maybe a death wish to boot.

"He tied them up, then starting asking me questions."

Asuma's eyes narrowed at Shikamaru.

"What did you tell him?"

Shikamaru's shoulders slumped; the Nara genius propping his chin on his hands.

"Everything. Konoha's structure, ninja techniques, clan jutsu, various ninja and their techniques, I answered everything I could."

For the first time in his life, Asuma looked at the Nara genius with disappointment clear on his face.

"You know I have to report this? Why didn't you refuse or just lie to him?"

Shikamaru gave his sensei an irritated look before his eyes shifted guiltily to Ino's battered form.

"I tried. Some of the questions were plants, and when he caught me in a lie…"

Asuma swallowed hard. Taking the punishment yourself was one thing, but having someone else hurt because you wouldn't answer, he'd seen chunin and even some jonin break under that kind of torture.

"It's alright kid. There's nothing you could have done."

Shikamaru's eyes stared at the dirt in front of him, clearly refusing to believe that he was so entirely blameless.

"He left a message for you as well. He said that this was a warning and that, from now on, if anyone comes after him, he'll make reprisals—just like what you saw."

Asuma's teeth ground together. The brat had them right where he wanted them; if they took him out, it had to be a sure thing now. If he managed to escape…

"Do you think he was telling the truth?"

Shikamaru paused for a long time, contemplating his sensei's question.

"I'm not sure, but it's close enough that I wouldn't be comfortable calling him on it."

Asuma nodded, his own thoughts on the matter cemented. Active pursuit of the kid needed to end, and it needed to end immediately. With a long sigh, Asuma ran a hand through his hair and fished out a cigarette.

"Alright, kid. Go set up one of the tents and get some sleep. You deserve it."

Shikamaru didn't move from his position next to the campfire.

"Asuma, he took everything except our clothes."

Despite himself, Shikamaru smiled as his sensei began a long string of curses.

* * *

><p><em>Nearby in the Land of Tea<em>

Naruto couldn't help a smirk as he sprinted through the Land of Tea, putting as much distance between himself and team 10 as possible. His ambush had progressed perfectly; he was now completely restocked on gear, had some very reliable intel from the most intelligent ninja of his year, and—most importantly—had sent the old man a message. Unless he had completely misjudged the Sandaime, the threat would be reason enough to terminate pursuit and give him the time he needed to get stronger.

'_Check, old man'_

Sliding to a stop, Naruto examined the split river in front of him;one branch went west towards the Land of Waves, while the other meandered east towards the Land of Water—a land in the midst of a civil war. Frowning, Naruto immediately turned toward the western branch; war wasn't something he was anxious to experience.

* * *

><p><em>Land of Waves<em>

Warm blood flowed down Kakashi's arm, the sliver-haired ninja looking at the boy in front of him in disbelief. Haku gave a feeble cough as he stared at the arm piercing his chest.

"Zabuza-san, please run."

Zabuza looked at Haku, his hand tightening on the hilt of Kubikiri Bocho.

"Please, Zabuza-san. I won't last much longer."

Kakashi, seeing Zabuza gripping his sword, moved to pull his arm out of the fake hunter-nin's chest only for the boy to quickly grip his arm.

A single tear slid out of the corner of Zabuza's eye, the missing-nin quickly turning and vanishing into the mist despite his grievous injuries. Kakashi grunted as he watched the mist ninja disappear, the boy in front of him finally relaxing his grip on the copy ninja's arm.

"Tell Sakura…that I'm sorry…"

Kakashi let out a long sigh as he watched the light fade from the hunter nin's eyes. Making a few quick handseals, Kakashi unleashed a small futon ninjutsu and cleared away the mist covering the bridge, revealing Sasuke and Sai unconscious where they had attempted to bring down the fake hunter-nin and Sakura still standing alert in front of Tazuna.

"That's enough Sakura, the fight is…"

Kakashi let his head fall as the mist revealed a small army of bandits, thieves, and other rabble lead by Gato himself.

"This is so not my day."

* * *

><p><em>Fire Country, just outside the Land of Waves.<em>

Zabuza leaned against a tree, desperately trying to stymie the blood flowing from the deep cut across his chest. Kakashi had done far more damage than he had originally thought—it would be a miracle if he made it out of this one.

Deciding he was far enough from Wave for neither Kakashi, nor Gato to happen upon him, the mist ninja sank to the ground and fished through his supply pouch for bandages, immediately stopping at the sound of someone approaching his position.

With a soft curse, Zabuza moved into a crouch, the cut across his chest widening and spilling even more of his blood across the forest floor.

Naruto stopped as the smell of blood reached his nose, drawing a kunai and dropping to the forest floor. After several minutes, the blond found what appeared to be the source of the smell—a large puddle of blood, right at the base of a tree. Naruto's eyes widened as he dipped his fingers in the crimson fluid; it was still very warm, whatever had been bleeding was probabl-

Only months on the run saved the Konoha missing nin as he ducked, not bothering to question his instincts. Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief as a massive sword embedded itself in the tree he had been standing next to. Springing away, Naruto turned to face his attacker—a large, brown-haired man with blood drenching his entire chest.

Zabuza glared at the boy in front of him, clearly a trained ninja; in his current state, he was toast, even fighting a kid like this. Zabuza's eyes shifted to the boy's headband and for the first time, he dared to hope he would make it out of this mess alive.

"I need your help, kid."

Zabuza moved to step forward, with his arms up in a show of good faith towards his fellow missing nin, but only managed to fall face first onto the forest floor, unconscious before he hit the ground.

* * *

><p>Zabuza awoke several hours later, wrapped in a bedroll. Groaning, the jonin managed to snake an arm into the cloth bag and run a hand over his chest, now covered in bandages with patches of blood showing through. To his left, the brown-haired boy he had tried to kill watched him impassively.<p>

"I'm not going to make it, am I kid?"

Naruto looked at the man in front of him for several seconds, finally giving his head a slow shake.

"You lost too much blood. The only reason you're conscious right now is because I gave you every blood-replenishing pill I have and several soldier pills, but they'll start to wear of soon. I tried to move you, but you just started to bleed faster. Unless a medic-nin willing to help you shows up in the next few minutes…"

Zabuza sighed, allowing his head to turn back towards the night sky.

"How long have you been running, kid?"

Naruto's eyes widened as the brown-haired ninja in front of him simply ignored the fact that he was entering his last few conscious minutes in this world.

"Almost four months now."

Zabuza simply watched the stars for several moments.

"The first few months are always the hardest…"

Naruto nodded in understanding, his voice cracking slightly as he broached the inevitable; indeed, the entire reason he had wasted so many pills bringing the mist nin back to the conscious world.

"Is there anything you want done with…"

Naruto made a vague gesture towards the giant cleaver next to Zabuza and the rest of his gear.

Zabuza didn't even bother to look; he had been thinking about the same thing.

"Take it, kid. I know it looks big and unwieldy, but it's truly an amazing blade—one of the swords of the seven swordsman of the Mist, actually."

Zabuza, for the first time in years, allowed a quiet chuckle to escape him at the boy's look of awe.

"I wouldn't carry it out in the open yet though. Mist nin tend not to be happy when their swords go missing."

Naruto nodded as the man in front of him began coughing, blood obvious on his lips.

"Looks like this is it…"

Zabuza leaned his head back, ready to meet Haku again.

"Actually…"

Naruto leaned forward, meeting the mist nin's eyes.

* * *

><p><em>Land of Water<em>

Naruto leapt off the water and landed just inside the borders of the Land of Water, immediately crouching and scanning his surroundings. Not seeing anyone, the blond quickly removed his leaf headband and substituted Zabuza's mist. Drawing out a smaller scroll, Naruto unsealed his prepared clothing, quickly slipping into black pants, a tight black, sleeveless shirt, and a pair of white arm warmers—Ino's if he remembered correctly. Pulling his new, black facemask up to his nose and wrapping tape around his ankles and wrists, Naruto mentally rehearsed his plan. Clipping his kunai and supply pouches into place, Naruto stood to his full height, looking-as intended-much like the mist nin he'd encountered in Wave.

Storing his leaf hitaite and old clothes, Naruto slid the storage scroll back into his supply pouch before beginning his cautious trek into the war-torn Land of Water.

* * *

><p>Naruto's landed with a soft tap, the acrid smell of smoke filling his nose. Crouched on the branch of a large oak tree, Naruto could clearly see the burned and gutted buildings, a few even still smoking. Leaping forward, Naruto landed on a beaten path leading into the village, immediately scanning the area around him. Sensing no one, Naruto began to slowly navigate his way among the decimated houses, doing his best to ignore the rotting corpses as he made his way onto the only cobbled street in the town.<p>

Stepping over a piece of blackened wood, Naruto fought against the urge to empty his stomach. From the looks of it, this village had been massacred only hours before...and absolutely no one had been spared. Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before standing straight and stretching his muscles. The entire town was clearly empty; no one sane would stay amongst this horror any longer than absolutely necessary. Naruto took off at a run down the street, framed on either side by the ominous, charred remains of houses and shops. The only option was to move on.

Naruto scanned the roof tops and various building as he ran, immediately noticing the small drop of pink in the road amongst the backdrop of grays, browns, and blacks. Naruto's run slowed to a jog, and then to a walk as he closed in on the object. His fist tightening, Naruto finally came to a complete stop as his teeth ground together in impotent rage. In the middle of the road lay a little girl, no older than three. In her arms lay a small, brown teddy bear; its fur matted and singed. The leaf nin had been on the run for months, escaped ANBU, and lived a shadow of an existence. He had been tortured by his own villagers and betrayed by the man he called 'grandfather'. He could accept these. He was a shinobi and a jinchuriki. Despite everything, there was a reason-no matter how twisted-for his suffering. Staring at the kunai that pinned the girl to her bear, Naruto felt warm tears sliding down his cheeks. There was no reason for this. The girl was too young to have defended herself, too young to have understood, too young to have even remembered the massacre of her village.

Only the barest glint of sunlight off metal saved Naruto, shaking him from his thoughts enough that the kunai meant for his chest instead buried itself in his arm. Grunting as pain coursed through his arm, Naruto brought his own kunai up in an awkward guard just as his attacker swung down with a tanto. The effort was just enough to deflect the blade, pulling its wielder off balance. Acting on months of drills and fights with his shadow clones, Naruto crouched, placed his off hand behind his kunai, and then drove the weapon through his attackers neck and into their brain. Allowing the body to drop, Naruto fell to his knees as pain continued to course through his arm. Gritting his teeth, Naruto gripped the kunai in his arm and removed it with a single pull, immediately beginning to bandage the wound. Several painful seconds later, the dressing was complete, and Naruto turned back to his attacker.

The boy couldn't have been any older than him, his pristine mist headband shining proudly on his head while his lifeless emerald eyes bore into Naruto's cerulean. Naruto hunched over as what little he had eaten over the past two days splattered onto the cobblestone street. His first kill. A young boy with a shining hitaite and haunting eyes. Staggering to his feet, Naruto sprinted towards the forest; the boy's jonin sensei wouldn't be far away.

* * *

><p>Naruto groaned as it started to rain…again. He had been in water country for a little over six days now and it had rained almost the entire time. With a sigh, Naruto slipped underneath one of the larger trees in the surrounding forest.<p>

Glancing around him warily, Naruto checked the wound on his arm and reevaluated his chances of reaching the rebel camp. According to the few villagers he had encountered, the Mizukage had been forcing the rebels steadily backwards and the war was approaching its climax. Naruto sighed; Zabuza's assessment of the situation was starting to look overly optimistic.

Naruto's deliberations halted as an explosion rocked the forest behind him. Drawing a kunai in each hand, the Konoha missing nin crouched against the tree he had taken shelter under, waiting and hoping.

Naruto let out a soft curse as another explosion went off, this one significantly closer to him. Whoever it was was coming right towards him. Making his decision, Naruto launched out of his hiding place, running perpendicular from the explosions in a bid to simply evade the confrontation. Only seconds later, Naruto almost fell out of the trees as the forest suddenly thinned, revealing a clearing nearly a hundred yards across and full of shinobi. Naruto did his best to disappear into the nearest shadow as the shinobi force looked expectantly to his left; eyes widening, Naruto heard the explosions again closing in on his position—albeit there now stood a small army between him and the pyrotechnic displays.

Naruto examined the force in front of him, silently thanking kami that he hadn't approached from the same direction as whoever was setting off those explosions—he would have been dead before he even…

Naruto's eyes widened in understanding as he frantically searched the shinobi for some sign—

"For the Mizukage! We end this war now!"

The yell was soft, just loud enough for the assembled force and Naruto to hear. Naruto's fists clenched as the Mizukage's forces spread throughout the clearing preparing to ambush whoever was being driven straight for them.

Naruto sank back against the tree behind him. It was all over; coming to Water had been a huge mistake. Naruto felt the strength leave his body as Zabuza's last, vehement words washed over him, accompanied by a small dot of pink against a backdrop of gray, brown, and black.

'_The Mizukage is a monster in a boy's body; he kills men, women, and children without the barest thought—even those who have never opposed him. He's turned the Mist into hell itself. The rebellion is the best thing that's happened to that country in almost a century;…I…should have gone back…to help…'_

Naruto gritted his teeth, fury coursing through his body. Naruto's eyes narrowed as another explosion washed over the clearing, close enough that the rebels could be no more than a minute away from the ambush.

"Zabuza…you were right...he is a monster..."

Pushing himself back to his feet, Naruto crossed his hands into his favorite handseal.

"Yagura, I will end you..."

The image of a little girl holding her teddy bear flashed through Naruto's mind.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" (Shadow Clone Technique)

Naruto unsealed all of the kunai and exploding tags he had looted from team 10, quickly dispersing them to his clones; moments later, Naruto caught sight of movement in the forest just before the clearing and gave a single signal to his clones. Naruto felt a feral grin slide across his face as he launched himself into the clearing along with a hundred of his shadow clones, performing a quick henge to look like just another mist nin.

Landing several meters into the Mizukage's forces, Naruto's clones ignited the explosive tags attached below their clothing and engaged the forces around them as the original raced for the front of the clearing and, presumably, the rebel force.

Naruto grunted as one of his clones exploded nearby, splattering blood across his face. Forcing himself to keep his feet, Naruto continued to run full tilt towards the tree line where a brown-haired woman had just appeared. Naruto almost tripped when two Mist nin in flak jackets appeared right next to him, joining him in his sprint towards the rebel force.

"Follow us. Remember, we only need to take down Terumi Mei."

Naruto nodded silently at the shinobi, doing his best not to glare as the man met his eyes. The other ninja gave Naruto a friendly smile.

"Don't worry, we'll do most of the fighting; you just give us some ranged support."

Naruto gave a quick nod as the two men pulled slightly ahead of him.

* * *

><p>Mei landed on the edge of the clearing just as the first explosions rocked the Mizukage's forces, sending them into disarray. Quickly stepping back into the shadows of the tree line, Mei examined what little remained of her ANBU, signaling an exhausted Ao forward. Gritting his teeth, the Mist nin quickly activated his stolen byakugan and scanned the clearing.<p>

"They're the Mizukage's forces. Probably an ambush. The only possibility is to push left and avoid it; whoever is fighting doesn't have any reserve forces nearby, they'll be overwhelmed in moments."

Ao deactivated his byakugan as he sent a significant glance back towards the handful of shinobi that now remained with them.

"We can't last much longer."

Mei nodded her head, very aware of exactly how wrong their mission had gone and how many shinobi had lost their lives because of it.

"Move left; don't engage unless you have to."

The shinobi behind Mei immediately set of at a run; Ao's only visible eye widened when the brunette didn't move.

"Mei, we need to—"

"Go, Ao. I'm going to buy you some time; I'm counting on you to get them back."

Ao grit his teeth as several shinobi in the clearing finally noticed them and began running towards their position.

"Mei, without you the rebellion…"

Ao's words died as Mei silenced him with a glare.

"GO!"

Ao gave a single, stiff nod as he disappeared into the woods; behind him, Mei drew a kunai and sent it screaming towards a shinobi who had caught sight of Ao, ending his life instantly. Drawing two more kunai, Mei smiled as three shinobi closed in on her.

"Looks like it's time to…"

Mei's words died as one of the shinobi fell slightly behind his comrades and promptly buried a kunai at the base of each of their skulls. Landing in front of the brown-haired woman on the edge of the forest, Naruto allowed his henge to drop.

"Zabuz-! No, who are you?"

"A friend of Zabuza's. We need to move though, my clones won't keep them busy much longer."

Mei simply nodded at the boy in front of her, her eyes wide in shock.

"Everyone in there is either an enemy or a clone?"

Naruto nodded as Mei began a series of handseals.

"One last attack it is."

Mei inhaled, channeled chakra to her lungs, and activated one of her kekkei genkai.

"Futton: Komu no Jutsu!" (Boil Release: Skilled Mist Jutsu)

Naruto watched as the tall brunette exhaled a thick mist into the clearing, quickly turning to follow her as she vanished into the forests.

* * *

><p><strong>For those curious, Mei's jutsu is the acidic mist she used against Sasuke at the five-Kage summit.<strong>


End file.
